The CCPA recently released a study I authored titled: The Cuts Behind the Curtain: How federal cutbacks will slash services and increase unemployment. The report examines all three waves of federal government cutbacks starting with the 2007-2010 strategic reviews, but also projecting the effects from the 2010 personnel budget freeze and the 2011 Strategic and Operating Review.

Definitely nothing new to see here. The boutique tax cuts are still there, so are the small programs from the failed March 22nd budget. The government was even good enough to put on track changes to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is the same budget and little has changed. The only real change is the elimination of one third of the public service...wooow wait a minute, that's a huge change!!!

The proposed cuts to the public service worth 11 billion over four years starting next year are not just musings anymore, as they were in the March 22nd budget, they are now part of the fiscal framework. They will be implemented starting next year.

Perhaps the government's new mantra for the budget and the throne speech is telling in its ordering. First priority is low tax, and then if jobs and growth also happen, well that's a happy coincidence.

It was interesting to hear the throne speech acknowledging that government spending like that in the stimulus program can create jobs and drive growth. That is to say that the Harper government knows how to create jobs and a reliable way to do that is to hire Canadians to build infrastructure.

Perhaps the government's new mantra for the budget and the throne speech is telling in its ordering. First priority is low tax, and then if jobs and growth also happen, well that's a happy coincidence.

It was interesting to hear the throne speech acknowledging that government spending like that in the stimulus program can create jobs and drive growth. That is to say, that the Harper government knows how to create jobs and a reliable way to do that is to hire Canadians to build infrastructure.

Today the CCPA released a study that I authored which examines and debunks one of the biggest contentions of this campaign, that corporate tax cuts create jobs. One of the key reasons cited by the Conservatives for continued corporate tax cuts is that they are needed to encourage job growth.